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In this podcast, Heather Olson Beal interviews Nicole Hardy, author of the stunningly beautiful memoir, Confessions of a Latter-day Virgin, with readers and fans Claire, Mel, and Maren. From amazon.com: When Nicole Hardy’s eye-opening “Modern Love” column appeared in the New York Times, the response from readers was overwhelming. Hardy’s essay, which exposed the conflict between being true to herself as a woman and remaining true to her Mormon faith, struck a chord with women coast-to-coast. Now in her funny, intimate, and thoughtful memoir, Nicole Hardy explores how she came, at the age of thirty-five, to a crossroads regarding her…

On April 5th, 2014 Ordain Women will again be seeking entrance into the LDS General Conference Priesthood session. Details can be found here. In this episode we interview Nadine Hansen, Kimberly Brinkerhoff, Katie Hyde, and Debra Jenson about their participation in Ordain Women.

In this podcast, Heather Olson Beal interviews three essayists who contributed to the book Mormon Women Have Their Say: Essays from the Claremont Oral History Collection: Caroline Kline (who also co-edited the book with Dr. Claudia Bushman), Anna Rolapp, and Elizabeth Mott. In this podcast, we discuss the Claremont Women’s Oral History Project in general and then discuss four essays in greater depth: Caroline’s essay on Mormon women’s conceptions of the self, Anna’s essay on Mormon women and California’s Proposition 8, Elizabeth’s essay on Mormon single women, and Caroline’s essay on Mormon women’s attitudes towards and feelings about patriarchy. From…

To conclude our series on the Ordain Women project (you can find part 1 here, and part 2 here), we bring together Kate Kelly, Heather Olson Beal, Neylan McBaine and Sara Vraneš for a concluding dialogue. We’d like to thank all of the participants in this discussion.

In this 2-part series, Fiona Givens, Maxine Hanks, Margaret Young, and Neylan McBaine discuss alternative Feminist approaches to the Ordain Women movement. * Maxine’s photo by Justin Hackworth Photography. P.S. Here is a video attempting to explain what the Ordain Women think and feel, and what they are trying to accomplish.

Over the past several years many have contacted me in response to my support of same-sex marriage and gender equality in LDS leadership to say: “If you believe in this church, then you believe in revelation and in following your leaders. Consequently, it is inappropriate for you to be speaking openly about wanting LGBTs to be more accepted in the church, your support for gay marriage, or for women to receive more church responsibility. Either the leaders of the church get their direction from God, or they don’t. If you choose to be a part of this church, then it’s either…

In part 1 of a three-part series, we discuss the Ordain Women-planned event on 10/5/2013 to attend the LDS general conference priesthood session. Participants include Heather Olson Beal, Ann Marie Whittaker, Tinesha Zandamela, and Lorie Winder Stromberg — all of whom participated in Saturday’s event. P.S. Here is a video attempting to explain what the Ordain Women think and feel, and what they are trying to accomplish.

This workshop on LDS Women and Sexual Desire was delivered on September 23rd, 2011 by Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife. In this presentation, Jennifer speaks to LDS women about the cultural and psychological barriers to sexual desire, as well as how to shift one’s relationship to sexuality to make it more pleasurable and desirable. Jennifer offers online courses on sexuality as well, which can be found here. Sources for SLC Women’s Presentation. Finlayson-Fife, J. (2002). Sexual Agency in Patriarchal Culture: The Case of Mormon Women. Boston College. UMI: Ann Arbor, MI. McCarthy, B. & McCarthy, E. (2003). Rekindling Desire: A Step by…

Today we interview Dane Laverty — founder of the “Agitating Faithfully” web site (Facebook page here). Agitating Faithfully is a site supporting gender equality in the church. It was inspired by President Gordon B. Hinckley’s answer to the question, “At present women are not allowed to be priests in your Church…Is it possible that the rules could change in the future..?” He responded, “Yes. But there’s no agitation for that. We don’t find it.” Agitating Faithfully isn’t a place for airing grievances. It isn’t a place to bash the church, its leaders, or its members. It’s not a protest or…

In this interview we speak with LDS feminist Tresa Edmunds. Tresa is an active, believing member of the LDS church, and writes for several online blogs including: Feminist Mormon Housewives under the name Reese Dixon Her own blog called Reese Dixon (dedicated mostly to arts and crafts) Guardian.co.uk (a leading British news source) Beginnings New (a progressive resource for LDS Young Women’s leaders) Recently penned an article for Patheos entitled, “The Next Generation of Mormon Feminism“ Is a co-founder of W.A.V.E. or Women Advocating for Voice and Equality — which was established “To advance the cause of gender equality within…

In this 3-part interview I speak with Lisa Butterworth, founder of (perhaps) the most popular blog within the LDS Bloggernacle: FeministMormonHousewives.org. In Part 1, Lisa discusses her early life, how she became a feminist, and what led to her creation of FeministMormonHousewives.com In Part 2, Lisa discusses the importance of open, thoughtful and candid discussions about women’s issues within the church, and on the Internet In Part 3, Lisa discusses the costs and benefits of blogging, provides some final insight and advice to LDS women, along w/ her testimony of the LDS gospel. Music on this episode was provided by…

In this episode, Martha Sontagg Bradley, author of Pedestals and Podiums: Utah Women, Religious Authority, and Equal Rights — discusses her research into the LDS church’s opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment. Most LDS historians and feminists credit this amazing series of events as the major impetus for the Mormon feminist activism that emerged in the 1980s and early 1990s. This presentation was first delivered during the 2005 Northwest Sunstone Symposium in Molly Bennion’s home–and we hope you enjoy Martha’s version of the story. Also, if you enjoy this presentation, please check out Sunstone’s MP3 collection for more great presentations…

Margaret Merrill Toscano is one of the most prominent and controversial feminists in the LDS church. In this episode Margaret discusses her journey into both Mormon Studies and Mormon Feminism. If you would like to express your gratitude to Margaret for doing this interview, please email your comments to me, and I will pass them on.

Margaret Merrill Toscano is one of the most prominent and controversial feminists in the LDS church. In this episode we discuss her early years growing up in Arizona as a faithful but questioning Latter-Day Saint, including her time at BYU as a student. If you would like to express your gratitude to Margaret for doing this interview, please email your comments to me, and I will pass them on. For the audio, click here.

Followers of Mormon Women Studies Everywhere, As some of you may be aware, Sunstone magazine published this month an essay written by Margaret Toscano entitled: ARE BOYS MORE IMPORTANT THAN GIRLS? The Continuing Conflict of Gender Difference and Equality in Mormonism. Please check it out if you have not yet had the chance. After brainstorming with Dan Wotherspoon, Sunstone’s editor, we thought it might be valuable to invite LDS women more broadly to submit some articles or personal essays to Sunstone magazine, with the intent of dedicating the entire next issue of Sunstone magazine to the topic of “Women in…

In part 2 of a 2-part conversation with 2 brilliant Mormon women (Taryn Nelson-Seawright and Rosalynde Welch), they review episodes 3-5 of the recent Mormon Stories series on Women in the LDS Church. This includes a discussion about the 3 part interview with Dr. Claudia Bushman. This episode was originally recorded as part of the Mormon Matters podcast, but has been included here as well for continuity. To hear more of (and to purchase!!!) the wonderful music included in the podcast, please check out: claytonpixton.com and skyepixton.com

In part 1 of a 2-part conversation with 2 brilliant Mormon women (Taryn Nelson-Seawright and Rosalynde Welch), they review the first 2 episodes of the recent Mormon Stories series on Women in the LDS Church. This includes a discussion of my introduction on the topic, the 3 waves of Feminism in the USA. This episode was originally recorded as part of the Mormon Matters podcast, but has been included here as well for continuity. To hear more of (and to purchase!!!) the wonderful music included in the podcast, please check out: claytonpixton.com and skyepixton.com

In our final hour with Dr. Claudia Bushman, she discusses early 20th Century Mormon women, again through writings from this era. Dr. Bushman also shares her perspective on the present and future of Mormonism, and provides some encouragement to the discouraged. In her summary, she asks our sisters to consider remaining engaged in the LDS church, even as times get tough. There is hope — and perhaps more writing, meaningful projects and steely determination are key ingredients.If you happen enjoy/appreciate Claudia’s interviews, please do email me so I can pass the word along. I’m quite sure Dr. Bushman will appreciate…

In this episode, Dr. Claudia Bushman joins us again to discuss 19th and Early 20th Century Mormon women, through the writings of 10 women of this era. If you happen enjoy/appreciate Claudia’s interviews, please do email me so I can let her know. I’m sure she will appreciate hearing from some of you.

Today we hear from one of the foremost voices on Women’s Issues within Mormonism: Dr. Claudia Bushman. Dr. Bushman is a historian by training, and has taught at Columbia University for many years. She is the author of several books and articles, including: “Mormon Sisters: Women of Early Utah” and “Mormon Domestic Life in the 1870s: Pandemonium or Acadia“. Perhaps most significantly, Dr. Bushman is one of the founders of Exponent II, a Boston-based magazine and now blog focused on feminism and women’s issues within Mormonism. She is also one of the early contributors to the now famous “Pink Issue”…

Listeners, Over the next 2 weeks, I desperately need to either: Find a woman or three I can interview, or Find a past Sunstone audio presentation ….that covers the following topics: “Prominent or Significant 19th Century Mormon Women” “The Involvement of LDS Women in the Suffragist Movement” And more generally, “10 Mormon Women Everyone Should Know” Please, please, please help if you can….and please spread the word. These are big holes in my agenda for this series.

Any discussion of women in the LDS Church would be incomplete without first understanding a bit about the history of women more broadly within the context of 19th and 20th century America. Consequently, in part 2 of this multi-part series on Women in the LDS Church, we will hear from an LDS woman who also teaches women’s studies at a division 1 university in the US. She will discuss the 3 major phases of feminism in the United States, trace its history from the mid 1800s to today, and will conclude with her own reflections about being an LDS woman…

To keep this podcast alive, please consider donating to Mormon Stories by clicking on the “Make a Donation” button at the top right of this blog. ============================ To access this interview, subscribe via iTunes, or click here to listen to the audio directly. The text of this introduction is (roughly as follows): =========== In 1789, the United States of American entered its first official year of operation. To many, the US represented a shining, new symbol to the world of Liberty. Equality. and Freedom. And rightly so. Notwithstanding, for the first 82 years of its history — the nation born…

For those interested, and as part of my focus on Women in the LDS church over the next month or so, I’d like to share with you fMhLisa’s interview from the Radio Ritas podcast. For those of you who don’t know, Lisa is the Founder of the Mormon blogging juggernaut that is Feminist Mormon Housewives. Please go here to comment about the interview…. You go, Lisa!!!!

Mormon Stories Listeners, I have a few good interviews in the works, so things are really starting to move. As always, thanks for your patience. As a supplement to this series, I’d love to highlight (and maybe even distribute) some of the “seminal” Sunstone/MHA presentations on Women’s issues in the church. If you have some time, please help me peruse the Sunstone archive for important presentations. You can search by topic (Women, Women’s Studies, Feminism, etc.) presenter (Claudia Bushman, Cecelia Farr, etc.) , or by symposium date/location — so hopefully it will be easy enough for you all. Please reply…